The Chiefs named Andy Reid as the team's new head coach in a five-year deal that “reportedly will give the longtime Eagles coach broad authority over football decisions,” according to Mortensen & Schefter of ESPN.com. The deal came hours after the Chiefs announced they had parted with GM Scott Pioli "after four tumultuous seasons." It is "expected" Reid will "pursue longtime Packers personnel man John Dorsey to work with him as general manager" (ESPN.com, 1/4). ESPN.com’s Bill Williamson wrote by hiring Reid, who is “arguably the biggest and best name of the available coaches,” Chiefs Chair & CEO Clark Hunt has “shown he is serious about making his team a winner.” Hunt is “giving the power of the team to a coach.” Reid will “report directly to Hunt.” It is a “sign to the fans that Hunt is really serious about fixing this issue.” A look at Reid’s track record “suggests it is a worthwhile endeavor” (ESPN.com, 1/4).

FRESH START: ESPN.com's Williamson in a separate piece reported Hunt was “open to keeping Pioli, perhaps in a similar role to the one he had in New England.” But firing Pioli was “the right way to go.” Williamson: “I don’t think it would have worked between Reid and Pioli. Starting a new era without Pioli makes sense for everyone.” The decision has been “met with celebration by much [of] a fan base that was fed up with a franchise that hasn’t won a playoff game in 20 years” (ESPN.com, 1/4). In K.C., Sam Mellinger wrote, “Two years of stubborn deterioration gave way to one week of aggressive reconstruction. A once-proud franchise seems to be back on its feet. This is Clark Hunt’s moment, and barring a massive departure from character, he will let others soak up the spotlight.” But if the Chiefs “scratch back to respectability, these are the decisions we will remember.” This is Hunt’s “finest hour” (K.C. STAR, 1/5). In Boston, Greg Bedard wrote, “Some hotshot coordinator was probably not going to boost ticket sales all that much.” With Reid, the Chiefs have “immediate credibility” (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/6).